Lightly active or Active?

cjsgrimlin1

Ok so my UP24 was apparently broken only clocking in around 6000 steps my most horrible days at work. Today being a half horrible day (busy morning slow afternoon) with my new fitbit registered 6500 by noon, and 9000 by 6pm. So i was thinking of adjusting my goals but having a hard time figuring out which would be best for me. Lightly active or Active? I'm a nurse in a clinic that can get VERY busy but can also get slow some days. I just don't know MFP definitions and what it impacts.

pollypocket1021

How long have you been logging? Are you losing at your anticipated rate as is? That seems like the best indicator of whether your settings are appropriate.

On an unrelated note, what kind of nursing do you do?

cnbbnc

I have a similar job and chose lightly active. If I do any cardio I eat some calories back, but otherwise I don't eat anything that's just based on my daily steps. That's what's been working for me.

cjsgrimlin1

I have been logging this go around for about 2 months i think and lost just about 9lb so a fair bit I'd assume. BUT i've kinda stalled out the last week yo yoing the same pound up and down. I actually don't know if i have been eating enough to tell the truth.

I triage patients for 2 nurse practitioners in an fairly large internal medicine clinic, so i see loads of things from sniffles to falls, to i have no clue what that is growing....

mellowadam

I'm an RT at a LTAC rehab hospital. Things get pretty nuts and I sometimes get 18,000 steps on a busy day. I work three 12 hour days. I do high intensity circuit training on my off days. I set myself as lightly active and am losing right at a half pound a week. I don't have much left to lose and I'm taking it slow to try and repair my metabolism from years of bogus fad diets. My wife is a registered dietitian and she told me to go lower rather than risk over estimating. I generally won't eat back my steps but I occasionally eat back 100 or so cals of a really intense work out.

Congrats on 9lbs in 2 months. That's over a pound a week which is a good loss. Don't fret if you yoyo a bit. A lot of that has to do with sodium, water weight, sleep pattern etc. Look for healthy trends over several months versus day to day or even week to week weigh ins.

pollypocket1021

cjsgrimlin1 wrote: »

I have been logging this go around for about 2 months i think and lost just about 9lb so a fair bit I'd assume. BUT i've kinda stalled out the last week yo yoing the same pound up and down. I actually don't know if i have been eating enough to tell the truth.

I triage patients for 2 nurse practitioners in an fairly large internal medicine clinic, so i see loads of things from sniffles to falls, to i have no clue what that is growing....

That's great! I would keep your settings where they are and see how things play out. Sometimes you'll see no change in weight despite doing everything right and then 5lbs magically falls off the scale. It happens. I only lose on my period.

Re: nursing, for whatever reason, I've always found myself in surgical sub-specialites, but I'd love ER or family practice. I like walking into a room and being surprised. And I hold a special place in my heart for people with chronic pain.

cjsgrimlin1

Yes and sadly I actually do have a type of chronic pain not as bad as some but the docs wouldn't do anything further than therapy 3 years ago for my torn mcl it is still rather unstable at times and hurts badly when I have a very busy day. Thank goodness for Mobil or else I couldn't get up to do it again the next day. As it is I cannot run or jump without risking falling. I do love where I am at so it would be hard not to be able to walk.

Sued0nim

Doesn't it automatically update your MFP calories eg your activity level like the fitbit does?

Then it doesn't matter

veganbaum

If you have negative calories enabled, then your choice of activity level shouldn't matter. I'd just go with your fitbit for a month or so and see what your average adjustment is. Then you should probably have a decent idea of how many calories you can eat on work days.